Ask Leo & Lucy + Marine life | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/ask-leo-lucy+marine-life
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:24:43 GMT2015-03-03T20:24:43Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Is it now ethical to eat farmed fish? | Lucy Sieglehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/01/is-it-ethical-to-eat-farmed-fish
The idea of eating caged fish bothers me, but I wonder if it is better for global sustainability<br />■ If you have an ethical dilemma, email Lucy at <a href="mailto:lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk" title="">lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk</a><p>There aren't plenty more fish in the sea. Our fish and seafood consumption is soaring, so in steps aquaculture, sparing the wild catch while fulfilling the protein needs of hungry humanity. From 2011 to 2012 global aquaculture provided 90m tonnes of fish, overtaking 80m tonnes from the wild fisheries.</p><p>But in reality 50% of the world's wild caught fish are fed to other animals, including farmed fish. Nearly 5m tonnes of anchovies are plundered each year from the Humboldt Straits off the coasts of Peru and Chile, and one-third of that catch is fed to captive fish.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/01/is-it-ethical-to-eat-farmed-fish">Continue reading...</a>FishingFoodMarine lifeConservationEthical and green livingEnvironmentWildlifeAnimalsLife and styleSun, 01 Jun 2014 07:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/01/is-it-ethical-to-eat-farmed-fishPRBarrels of fun: Borough Wines refills, which are being rolled out nationwideDavid Cheskin/PALucy Siegle: 'Caged salmon have been called the “battery hens of the sea”.' Pictured: a worker at a salmon farm in Scotland. Photograph: David Cheskin/PADavid Cheskin/PALucy Siegle: 'Caged salmon have been called the “battery hens of the sea”.' Pictured: a worker at a salmon farm in Scotland. Photograph: David Cheskin/PALucy Siegle2014-06-01T07:30:00ZAre microbeads and microplastics in beauty products a threat to the oceans?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/dec/09/microbeads-microplastics-cosmetics-ocean-pollution
The ubiquitous use of tiny fragments of plastic in cosmetics seems to be a serious problem for the marine environment. Am I right, and what can be done about it?<p>It is true that microscopic particles of <a href="http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-polyethylene.htm" title="">polyethylene</a> now bob around the high seas. It's also true that the origins of these <a href="http://microplastics" title="">microplastics</a> are likely to be consumer products. Washing your face can be an act of pollution if you use a&nbsp;cleaner that contains zillions of plastic <a href="http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbeads" title="">microbeads</a> for exfoliation. Too small to be sifted out at sewage treatment plants, they end up in the ocean, where the plastic becomes a persistent pollutant. As sea temperatures are low, plastic does not biodegrade; it is also ingested by wildlife. How could they avoid it? In some seas plastic fragments are more plentiful than plankton.</p><p>So let's dry our guilt-induced &quot;<a href="http://www.sas.org.uk/campaigns/marine-litter/mermaids-tears/" title="">mermaid tears</a>&quot; – as these polluting plastic particles are poetically known – and face this issue. Largely this involves staring down the behemoth cosmetics industry, which has developed something of a dependency on fragments of plastic – apparently even some companies that send out beautiful sustainable messages about other parts of their supply chain.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/dec/09/microbeads-microplastics-cosmetics-ocean-pollution">Continue reading...</a>BeautyMarine lifeOceansPollutionEthical and green livingEnvironmentFashionLife and styleSun, 09 Dec 2012 00:07:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/dec/09/microbeads-microplastics-cosmetics-ocean-pollutionObserver"Washing your face can be an act of pollution if you use a cleaner that contains zillions of plastic microbeads – aka 'mermaid tears' – for exfoliation": Lucy Siegle on the microplastics which in some seas are more plentiful than plankton. Photograph: ObserverObserver"Washing your face can be an act of pollution if you use a cleaner that contains zillions of plastic microbeads – aka 'mermaid tears' – for exfoliation": Lucy Siegle on the microplastics which in some seas are more plentiful than plankton. Photograph: ObserverLucy Siegle2012-12-09T00:07:17ZThe seas lie emptyhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/25/lucy-seigle-sustainable-fish-farmed
Rather than eating weird types of fish that I don't really like (as seems to be the sustainable advice), wouldn't it be more ecologically sensible for me to eat farmed fish of a species I do like, that is plentiful because it is farmed?<p>The phrase &quot;there are plenty more fish in the sea&quot; is obsolete. There just are not. In my own lifetime (I was born in 1974) global consumption of fish has doubled – 84% of all wild fish stocks are overexploited or depleted. Fishing vessels are so huge they scoop up their entire seasonal quota in just six weeks. Quotas have proved to be as effective as clowns transporting water in leaky buckets.</p><p>You probably already eat more farmed fish than you imagine. Some 40% of the seafood we consume will have been farmed in some way. Farmed salmon, tilapia, trout and mussels are extremely common in the UK. By 2020, the UN says, we will need to farm half the fish we consume globally.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/25/lucy-seigle-sustainable-fish-farmed">Continue reading...</a>FishingFoodWildlifeMarine lifeConservationAnimalsEthical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleSun, 25 Mar 2012 00:09:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/25/lucy-seigle-sustainable-fish-farmedDavid Cheskin/PA"Some 40% of the seafood we consume will have been farmed in some way": a worker at salmon farm in Scotland. Photograph: David Cheskin/PADavid Cheskin/PA"Some 40% of the seafood we consume will have been farmed in some way": a worker at salmon farm in Scotland. Photograph: David Cheskin/PALucy Siegle2012-03-25T00:09:05ZPaws for thoughthttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/31/lucy-siegle-cat-food-fish
As a cat lover who has taken in a number of stray moggies (six at the last count), I'd like to know how sustainable mainstream cat food is.<em> </em><p>In days of yore domestic cats did their own foraging. That was sort of the point. They were there to eat leftovers and supplement their diet with rodents. It was an archetype frequently replayed in popular culture. I refer to my own 1970s childhood. A cat was always pictured next to the skeleton of a fish bone recovered from a bin. Not even razor-sharp Officer Dibble could thwart Top Cat's raids on dustbins.</p><p>Somewhere the cat went from feline freegan to a beast that must eat wild-caught fish from a velvet cushion. Our cats are now so fat they need scientific dietary intervention from multinational pet food companies.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/31/lucy-siegle-cat-food-fish">Continue reading...</a>FishingFoodEthical and green livingConservationMarine lifeEnvironmentLife and styleSat, 30 Jul 2011 23:05:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/31/lucy-siegle-cat-food-fishLucy Siegle2011-07-30T23:05:21ZCan I collect and keep anything I find on a beach? | Leo Hickmanhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2011/jun/29/coastlines-marine-life-beach-forage
Beaches can be a treasure trove for the forager, but there must be limits to what you can take home<p><strong>I love rock-pooling. I have ever since I was a child. Occasionally, at low tide, I will collect mussels from the rocks and take them home to eat. I see nothing wrong with this, but I often think about what would happen if everyone on the beach did this, too. Is there a limit to what we can take from a beach? Is it even &quot;ours&quot; to take? What about seaweed, shingle or sand for the garden? Or driftwood? Some beaches shows signs saying &quot;No fires&quot; or &quot;No dogs&quot; suggesting some rules are applied. But I never see anything saying &quot;No collecting&quot;.</strong></p><p><strong>M Hanley, by <a href="mailto:ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk">email</a></strong></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2011/jun/29/coastlines-marine-life-beach-forage">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentCoastlinesMarine lifeWed, 29 Jun 2011 11:33:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2011/jun/29/coastlines-marine-life-beach-forageDan Burton/Rex FeaturesA 5-year-old girl rock-pooling in Devon. Photograph: Dan Burton/Rex FeaturesDan Burton/Rex FeaturesYoung 5 year-old girl rockpooling in Devon. Photograph: Dan Burton/Rex FeaturesLeo Hickman2011-06-29T11:33:53ZCan I eat fish and be green?http://www.theguardian.com/global/2010/sep/12/eat-fish-green-sustainable-mercury-mackerel-stocks
When it comes to finding sustainable fish it's a jungle out there<p>We know we have reached the end of the line with a number of fish species – notably bluefin tuna, the poster fish for ecocide. But the issue isn't simply Japanese trawlers tracking the last rare breeds in exotic waters. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) reminds us that 88% of European fish stocks are overfished. The careful consumer carries an MCS pocket guide and looks for seasonal species and less exploited alternatives to cod.</p><p>Fish from sustainable fisheries wear the Marine Stewardship Council's blue tick. Mackerel has been a mainstay. Not only are its health benefits as an oily fish sacrosanct, it's a local fish, too, readily available from around these shores. Until now. In terms of stand-offs and blockades mackerel is the new cod. This time Scottish and Icelandic fishermen are at war over it. Iceland has decided to increase its mackerel quota by 130,000 tonnes this year (2,000 tonnes was previously agreed with the EU) and the Faroe Islands (under the auspices of Denmark) by 85,000 tonnes. According to Scottish fishermen this enormous hike means their fish are being stolen.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global/2010/sep/12/eat-fish-green-sustainable-mercury-mackerel-stocks">Continue reading...</a>Ethical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleFishingFoodConservationWildlifeMarine lifeOceansFishSat, 11 Sep 2010 23:05:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global/2010/sep/12/eat-fish-green-sustainable-mercury-mackerel-stocksLucy Siegle2010-09-11T23:05:19Z